How Much Will Your Police Pension Actually Pay You?

The question most officers actually want answered

There are plenty of articles explaining police pension contributions. How much comes out of your pay each month, which tier you fall into, what the employer puts in. All useful, but not quite what most people are looking for.

How much will your police pension actually pay when you retire?

The answer depends on your years of service and your pay over that career, but the maths is simpler than you might expect. Here is how it works.

How you build up pension under CARE

Under PPS 2015, you build up pension each year based on a fraction of your pensionable pay. That fraction is 1/55.3. For every year you work, you lock in a pension equal to roughly 1/55th of what you earned that year.

A sergeant on PP2 (£53,568 gross) earns:

£53,568 ÷ 55.3 = £968/year of annual pension from that single year of service.

Work at similar pay for 20 years (at rising salary each year) and you are essentially building up a significant guaranteed income for retirement. What varies year by year is the salary going into the calculation.

Revaluation: why the simple maths understates your pension

Each year's accrual is revalued annually by CPI + 1.25% until you retire. So £968 of pension accrued this year does not stay at £968. It grows by inflation plus 1.25% every year you remain in service.

It is a bit like getting a pay rise on money you have already set aside for retirement. The earlier years of service end up being worth more than the raw accrual figure suggests.

If inflation averages 2.5% over a long career, the revaluation rate is 3.75% per year. Over 30 years, that compounds significantly.

A worked example: 30 years' service

Let's say your career goes roughly like this: constable for the first 15 years, progressing up the scale, then sergeant for the next 15. For illustration, assume an average pensionable pay across your career of around £45,000 (accounting for lower pay in the early constable years and higher pay later as a sergeant).

Basic calculation (ignoring revaluation):

30 × (£45,000 ÷ 55.3) = 30 × £814 = £24,420/year pension

With CPI+1.25% revaluation applied to each year's accrual, the realistic outcome is higher, likely in the range of £29,000 to £35,000/year depending on actual inflation over your career. Your force pension team can run an actual projection for your specific circumstances (they are usually more helpful than people expect, and it is worth asking for one every few years).

Normal pension age

Under PPS 2015 your normal pension age is 60. You can access benefits from age 55 with an actuarial reduction applied based on how many years early you take them.

What if you leave early?

If you leave the police with more than 2 years' qualifying service, your pension is preserved and paid from age 60. The accrued pension continues to be revalued by CPI+1.25% each year in the meantime.

The thing is, a lot of officers who leave are surprised by how much they have already built up. Even 10 years of service with PPS 2015 and a reasonable salary produces a meaningful deferred pension. It does not disappear when you leave.

Commutation: taking a lump sum at retirement

At retirement you can trade some annual pension for a tax-free lump sum. The rate is £1 of annual pension = £12 lump sum.

So if your pension is £30,000/year and you commute £9,000 of it:

• Lump sum: £9,000 × 12 = £108,000 tax-free
• Remaining annual pension: £21,000/year

Whether commutation makes sense depends on your health, other savings, whether you need capital immediately (to clear a mortgage, for example), and your view on how long you expect to draw it. See the mortgage calculator if you are working out whether a lump sum might clear your outstanding balance. Worth getting proper pension advice before you decide rather than just doing the maths yourself.

Should you opt out?

Generally, no. Opting out loses you the employer contribution of approximately 31% of pensionable pay. Literally the only scenarios where opting out might make sense involve very specific personal tax or pension planning circumstances, and even then you would need professional advice to confirm it.

The contribution feels large on your payslip. The guaranteed defined benefit income it buys is extremely difficult to replicate anywhere else.

For a breakdown of contribution rates and the pension tiers, see the police pension explained article. To see exactly how your pension contributions affect your monthly take-home right now, use the pay calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much pension will I actually get after 30 years of service?

There's no single answer because it depends on your pay progression over those 30 years. The 1/55.3 CARE formula builds a different pension for each year of service, and each year's accrual revalues by CPI+1.25% until you draw it. The simplest way to get a realistic figure is to ask your force pension team for an annual benefit statement — most forces issue these yearly and will also run projections on request.

Is the £1 of pension = £12 lump sum commutation rate fixed?

The commutation factor has been 12× for PPS 2015, but it's set by the Government Actuary and can change. It was 12× at scheme inception and remains so as of 2026, but it isn't guaranteed in perpetuity. The closer you are to retirement, the more certainty you have on the factor that will apply to you.

What happens if I'm medically discharged before reaching pension age?

Officers medically discharged on grounds of permanent disablement receive an ill-health pension under PPS 2015. There are two tiers: lower tier (can do other regular employment) and upper tier (permanently disabled for any regular employment). The upper tier provides a significantly enhanced pension. The specific terms depend on your circumstances and are assessed by the force medical authority.

Does the pension revalue in payment, or only while I'm contributing?

Under PPS 2015, the pension revalues by CPI+1.25% each year while you're in service (the accrual revaluation). Once you start drawing the pension, it revalues in payment by CPI — without the 1.25% enhancement. That's still inflation-protection, but the in-payment increases are slightly less generous than the in-service accrual growth.

If I transfer from one force to another, does my pension follow me?

Yes. PPS 2015 is a national scheme administered locally. When you transfer forces, your pension accrual moves with you. You don't restart accrual — your service record and accumulated pension transfers seamlessly.

Pension projections in this article are illustrations only. Actual values depend on your specific service history, pay progression, and inflation over your career. Contact your force pension team for a personal projection.